Device for packaging and dispensing stacked items, in particular cosmetics on a medium

ABSTRACT

A device for packaging and dispensing stacked items may include: a box including: a first portion, in particular a cover; and a second portion, in particular a drawer, that is movable relative to the first portion between a retracted position and an extended position; and a stack of items disposed in the second portion; the first portion including a drive member configured to press against the stack of items while the second portion is being moved toward the retracted position, and to entrain an item in contact therewith relative to a remainder of the stack in order to enable the item to be grasped by a user; and the second portion and the drive member also being configured in such a manner as to prevent the drive member from pressing against the stack of items over at least a fraction of the stroke of the second portion from the retracted position toward the extended position.

This non provisional application claims the benefit of FrenchApplication No. 03 13753 filed on Nov. 24, 2003 and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/528,471 filed on Dec. 118, 2003.

The present invention relates to a device for packaging and dispensingstacked items, in particular cosmetics on a medium.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Certain active substances for use in cosmetics, including in careproducts, can be presented to the user in the form of thin sheets, e.g.for being impregnated with a liquid or dissolved in a liquid.

Packaging such sheets in a conventional box with a cover that can beraised or removed, is not very satisfactory.

The sheets are very light in weight and run the risk of escaping fromthe box when the cover is opened.

There is also a risk that a user seeking to take hold of a sheet in thebox will also touch other sheets, which can give rise to problems ofhygiene.

It can also be difficult to take hold of only one sheet at a time.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,360,162 describes a dispenser of chewing gum sticks, thedispenser including a feed plate enabling sticks to be extracted one byone. The stack of sticks rests continuously on the plate, and a springis provided on a cover to push the stack down against the plate.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,973,882 describes another chewing gum stick dispenserincluding a slider enabling the top stick on a stack to be pushedthrough a slot.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,666,095, 6,230,879, and 6,578,732, British patentapplication GB 2 358 627, and Swiss patent CH 461 025 describedispensers that are fairly similar.

European patent application EP 0 319 046 describes a business carddispenser that operates in similar manner.

Those known dispensers are not adapted to thin sheets, and they are alsorelatively complex.

US application 2003/0106900 describes a dispenser of sheets of aproduct, comprising a top part movable relative to a bottom partcontaining stacked sheets. The top part comprises a deformable portionon which the user may press during the movement of the top part, toentrain a sheet toward the exit.

The deformable portion may come in contact with the stack of sheetswhichever is the position of the top part relative to the bottom part.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to remedy some or all of theabove-identified drawbacks by proposing a device for packaging anddispensing stacked items, which device comprises:

-   -   a box comprising:        -   a first portion, in particular a cover; and        -   a second portion, in particular a drawer, that is movable            relative to the first portion between a retracted position            and an extended position; and    -   a stack of said items disposed in the second portion.

The first portion, in particular the cover of the box, includes a drivemember configured firstly to press against the stack of items when thesecond portion, in particular the drawer, is moved towards the retractedposition, and secondly to drive an item in contact therewith relative tothe remainder of the stack in order to enable the item to be grasped bythe user.

The second portion, in particular the drawer, and the drive member arealso configured in such a manner as to prevent the drive member frompressing on the stack of items over at least a fraction of the stroke ofthe second portion from the retracted position towards the extendedposition.

Such a device enables the items to be dispensed one by one, by using asimple action that is applied to the second portion and that consists incausing it to perform one go-and-return movement relative to the firstportion on each dispensing cycle.

During the beginning of the dispensing cycle, e.g. while the drawer isbeing extracted from the cover, no item is dispensed. Dispensing takesplace during the return movement of the drawer.

The invention also makes it possible to avoid unwanted delivery of itemsprior to use and guarantees that they are packaged hygienically.

Such a device can also be manufactured at relatively low cost,compatible with large-scale distribution, in particular by making thesecond portion in the form of two hinged portions connected together bya film hinge, by molding a plastic material, as described in greaterdetail below.

The drive member may comprise an elastically deformable tab configuredin such a manner as to enable the drive member to exert sufficientcontact pressure on the stack of items to entrain the item on the top ofthe stack.

The tab may be made integrally with the first portion by molding aplastic material.

Thus, in an embodiment of the invention, by way of example, the devicemay be deprived of any deformable portion on its upper side, on whichthe user would have to press to entrain an item toward the extendedposition.

The second portion, in particular the drawer, may include a slot throughwhich the drive member extends while it is in contact with the stack.

The second portion may include at least one slideway configured to movethe drive member away from the stack of items, at least during afraction of the stroke of the second portion from the retracted positiontowards the extended position.

The second portion and the drive member may be arranged in such a mannerthat the drive member engages or begins to engage in the slideway whensaid second portion has reached a fully retracted position. Thus, inthis full retracted position, the drive member may no longer be incontact with the stack of items.

In a particular embodiment, the second portion thus has two slidewaysassociated respectively with two opposite sides of the second portion.

The drive member may include projections configured in such a mannerthat, at the beginning of a new dispensing cycle, it rests on theslideways during at least a fraction of the stroke of the second portionfrom the retracted position towards the extended position, in particularit may include projections made integrally with the drive member bymolding a plastics material.

By way of example, the second portion may be made with a frame havingopposite branches each carrying one of said slideways.

The second portion may include at least one slideway having an endportion with which the drive member comes into contact while the secondportion is being moved from the extended position to the retractedposition in order to dispense an item. The second portion may have awall that is arranged to force the drive member to go past the secondend of the slideway when the second portion is brought into the fullyclosed position, so that the drive member then rests on the slidewaywhen the second portion is again moved towards its extended position,during the following dispensing cycle.

To make this possible, the shortest distance between a slideway and saidwall may be less than the distance between a surface of the drive memberwhich comes to bear against said wall and a surface of the drive memberwhich comes to bear against the slideway when the drive member isresting thereon without making contact with the stack of items.

The front end portions of the slideways may taper forwardly, therebymaking it easier for the drive member to go past them.

The front end portions of the slideways may also be free, thereby makingit easier for the drive member to go past them.

The second portion may include a ramp, which may be constituted inparticular by the above-mentioned wall, with the drive member coming tobear against it when the second portion has been moved from the extendedposition towards the retracted position in order to dispense an item,and the second portion is close to the retracted position.

With a downward rim, the ramp may define a setback enabling the secondportion to be grasped by a user in order to entrain it between itsretracted and extended positions.

The second portion may be made as two hinged portions connected togetherby a hinge, in particular a film hinge.

The second portion may be made with another ramp, at the rear, arrangedto skew the stack of items in forward slope when one of the hingedportions is folded down onto the other, prior to the first and secondportions being assembled together.

The first portion of the box, in particular the cover, may be arrangedto enable the two above-mentioned hinged portions to form aforwardly-open angle when the second portion is in the extendedposition. Such an angle may make it easier for an item being dispensedto pass through.

The second portion may include a projection on its top front edgesuitable for forcing the two hinged portions to rest against each otherwhen the second portion is in the retracted position.

The second portion may be made with a bottom wall that presents a bottomface having a first shape in relief co-operating with a correspondingsecond shape in relief of the first portion, to define an end-of-strokeabutment for the second portion when it is in the extended position.

In another aspect, the invention also provides a method of manufacturinga device for dispensing items, the method comprising the followingsteps:

-   -   placing a stack of items to be dispensed in a drawer comprising        two hinged-together portions; and    -   assembling the drawer with a cover;    -   the cover including a drive member configured to press against        the stack of items while the drawer is being moved towards its        retracted position, and to entrain an item in contact therewith        relative to the remainder of the stack in order to enable it to        be grasped by the user;    -   the drawer and the drive member also being configured in such a        manner as to prevent the drive member from pressing against the        stack of items over at least a fraction of the stroke of the        drawer from the retracted position towards the extended        position.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method of dispensing itemscontained in a drawer that is movable relative to a cover, the itemsforming a stack in the drawer,

-   -   the cover including a drive member configured to press against        the stack of items while the drawer is being moved towards the        retracted position and to entrain an item in contact therewith        relative to the remainder of the stack in order to enable it to        be grasped by the user,    -   the drawer and the drive member also being configured in such a        manner as to prevent the drive member from pressing against the        stack of items over at least a fraction of the stroke of the        drawer from the retracted position towards the extended        position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood on reading the followingdetailed description of a non-limiting embodiment thereof, and onexamining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section on a midplane of a devicemade in accordance with the invention, the drawer being shown in theretracted position;

FIG. 2 shows the cover of the FIG. 1 box in isolation;

FIG. 3 shows the drawer in isolation in the deployed configuration;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a portion of the drive member in front view;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic and fragmentary plan view showing the frame ofthe drawer;

FIGS. 6 to 8 are diagrams showing different steps in manufacturing thedevice;

FIG. 9 to 16 are diagrams showing different steps in a cycle fordispensing an item;

FIG. 17 shows an embodiment detail;

FIG. 18 shows a detail of the relative positioning of the drive memberand the cover of the box in the configuration of FIG. 16; and

FIGS. 19 to 21 are fragmentary and diagrammatic cross-section viewsshowing variants of items suitable for being dispensed.

MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The packaging and dispenser device 1 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a box 2housing a stack 3 of items 4.

The items may be generally flat and may be constituted, for example, bythin sheets that are flexible and that include at least one activeagent, in particular an agent that is active in cosmetics ordermatology.

By way of example, the above-mentioned sheets may comprise a substrateof a dry gum of synthetic or plant origin, for example an agar gel.

Where appropriate, the sheets may be mesh sheets with at least oneactive agent contained in the mesh.

By way of example, the thickness of the sheets is less than 0.5millimeters (mm), for example being 0.2 mm on average in the exampledescribed.

The items 4 may be of rectangular or square format, for example, with along dimension that is less than or equal to 5 centimeters (cm) or 10cm, these values being given solely by way of example.

The number of items 4 in the stack 3 lies, for example, in the range tento one hundred.

By way of example, the items 4 may be for single use and may bearranged, for example, so as to dissolve in a liquid, in particularwater, for the purpose of releasing at least one active agent.

In a variant, and as shown in FIG. 19, the items 4 may include shapes inrelief, for example projections.

FIG. 20 shows an item of a shape that is generally concave.

Each item 4 may be folded in half, as shown in FIG. 21.

The box 2 comprises a first portion constituted by a cover 5, shown inisolation in FIG. 2, and a second portion formed by a drawer 6 having abottom wall 24 which defines the bottom of a housing 7 in which thestack 3 is placed.

The term “cover” should be understood broadly and covers equally well aportion of the box which is on the outside as in the example shown, as aportion of the box which is itself covered by a covering or a body ofthe box.

The cover 5 may thus constitute the body of the box, extending allaround the drawer 6 except in front, as shown in the drawings.

The cover 5 could constitute no more than the top portion of the box,for example, it could cover only the top of the drawer, in full or inpart, with this configuration not being shown in the drawings.

The drawer 6 can be moved relative to the cover 5 along an axis X, andin the example described, it can be moved in translation.

In FIG. 1, the drawer 6 is shown in its retracted position and it can bemoved forwards, i.e. to the right in FIG. 1, in order to reach anextended position as shown in FIG. 12, in particular.

In the example shown, the axis X also corresponds to the longitudinalaxis of the device.

The outside shape of the cover 5 may be generally that of a rectangularparallelepiped, with an opening at its front end occupying a plane 53that slopes downwards and rearwards.

The cover 5 of the box includes a drive member 10 which, in the exampledescribed, is made integrally with the top wall 11 of the cover 5 bymolding a plastics material, the cover 5 itself advantageouslyconstituting a single part.

An opening 12 may be made in the bottom wall 13 of the cover 5 in orderto enable the drive member 10 to be molded by using a mold with a slide.

In the example described, the drive member 10 comprises a flexible tab15 which extends obliquely downwards and forwards, as can be seen inFIG. 2, with its bottom end connected to a terminal portion 16 forcoming into contact with the item 4 a that is present on the top of thestack 3 during a dispensing cycle as described below.

In the example shown, the terminal portion 16 presents a fraction 17 ofits outside surface that is substantially circularly cylindrical aboutan axis Y, which axis is substantially perpendicular to the axis X andparallel to the top face of the stack 3.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, at its lateral ends, the terminal portion 16is provided with projections 18, e.g. circularly cylindrical projectionsabout the axis Y, and of radius r″ that is less than the radius r′ ofthe fraction 17.

The tab 15 may be made of a plastic material that enables it to bendelastically forwards and upwards, in particular during a cycle fordispensing an item 4, for example it can be made of a polyolefin, apolyamide, e.g. Nylon®, Debrin®, or a styrene polymer.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the cover 5 can be made with a first shape inrelief 20 close to the front end of the bottom wall 13, formed by anupward step in the example shown, which is designed to co-operate with asecond shape in relief 23 of the drawer 6, this second shape in relief23 likewise being constituted in the example described by a step, madein the bottom face of the bottom wall 24.

In the example described, the drawer 6 comprises two hinged portions, afirst portion 26 and a second portion 27 interconnected by a film hinge28 which makes it possible, in particular, for the drawer 6 to be madeby molding a plastics material in a deployed configuration, such as theconfiguration shown in FIG. 3, for example. In a variant that is notshown, the two portions 26 and 27 are connected together by a hingeother than a film hinge, e.g. a hinge having a metal hinge pin.

The first portion 26 which includes the bottom wall 24, presents a frontwall that slopes upwards and forwards, defining a ramp 30 that isextended at the front by a downwardly-directed rim 31.

A setback 32 is formed behind the rim 31, under the ramp 30, and enablesthe user to engage at least part of a finger, e.g. the index finger,therein in order to move the drawer 6 relative to the cover 5 towardsits extended position.

The slope of the ramp 30 in the example shown is about 45° relative tothe bottom wall 24, however some other slope could be used, for examplelying in the range 30° to 60°, and the slope could optionally be avarying slope.

The second portion 27 of the drawer 6 comprises a frame 34 which can beseen in FIG. 5, and a rear wall 36 which extends, when the drawer 6 isin place inside the cover 5, rearwards and downwards, at an angle ofinclination relative to the bottom wall 24 which is, for example,substantially the same as the angle of inclination of the ramp 30.

As shown, the frame 34 may be substantially rectangular in shape, havingtwo lateral branches 38 extending generally parallel to the axis X andinterconnected at the front by a front branch 39, which front branchextends substantially perpendicularly to the axis X and parallel to thetop face of the stack 3.

The branches 38 and 39 define a slot 76 through which the drive memberextends in order to press against the stack 3.

Each of the lateral branches 38 carries a slideway 41 on its face 40facing the other lateral branch. In the example described, each slideway41 presents a substantially plane bottom face 43 that is coplanar withthe bottom face 44 of the corresponding lateral branch 38, as can beseen in FIG. 1, with each lateral branch 38 being, for example, ofgenerally rectangular cross-section.

As can be seen in FIG. 3 in particular, each of the slideways 41 mayalso present a thickness e that is substantially constant over the majorportion of its length, and at the front it may present a respective endportion 46 of thickness that tapers going forwards, the top face 70 ofeach of said end portions 46 extending in a plane that slopes rearwardsand upwards, when the drawer 6 is in the utilization configuration shownin FIG. 1.

The front portion 46 of each slide slideway 41 may be free, as shown inFIG. 5, being separated from the corresponding branch 38 by a gap 85.

Thus, each front portion 46 is held to the remainder of the slideway 41by a junction zone 36 only.

At its top edge, the front branch 39 has a projection 50 (as can be seenin FIG. 5) that presses against the bottom face 51 of the top wall 11 ofthe cover 5, when the drawer 6 is fully retracted.

In the example under consideration, the shortest distance d between theend portion 46 and the ramp 30 is less than the difference between theradii r′-r″, as can be seen in FIG. 17, in particular.

After the drawer 6 and the cover 5, have been made, the stack 3 of itemsto be dispensed is placed on the bottom wall 24, as shown in FIGS. 6 and7, the drawer 6 being in its deployed configuration, and then the secondportion 27 of the drawer is folded onto the first portion 26. Whereappropriate, these operations can be performed by the user, inparticular when the stack 3 is constituted by a refill.

During the movement of the second portion 27, the wall 36 skews theitems 4 in the stack 3 into a slope so as to bring their front edgessubstantially against the ramp 30, as can be seen in FIG. 8.

In this figure, it can be seen that so long as the drawer 6 is not fullyretracted in the cover 5, the front branch 39 is spaced a little apartfrom the front top edge of the first portion 26 of the drawer.

The drawer 6 may have its rear end inserted into the cover 5, the drivemember 10 bending and sliding on the rear wall 36, while the drawer 6 ispushed into the cover 5.

Below, it is assumed that the drawer 6 is in the position shown in FIG.9, i.e. that it is fully retracted inside the cover 5.

The projections 18 then rest on the front end portions 46 of theslideways 41, as can be seen in FIG. 18.

On beginning to extract the drawer 6, the projection 50 ceases to pressagainst the top wall 11 of the cover 5, thereby enabling the top branch39 to move a little away from the top end of the ramp 30, as shown inFIG. 10.

The projections 18 continue to rest on the slideways 41, therebypreventing the end portion 16 of the drive member 10 from pressingagainst the stack 3.

As the drawer 6 continues to be extracted, the projections 18 reach therear ends of the slideways 41, as shown in FIG. 11, after which thedrive member 10 leaves the slideways 41 and can press against the item 4a on the top of the stack 3, as shown in FIG. 12, given that the tab 15is resilient.

At this moment, the shapes in relief 20 and 23 come substantially intoabutment, and the drawer 6 is substantially in its fully extendedposition. Thereafter, when the user begins to push the drawer back intothe cover 5, the terminal portion 16 of the drive member causes theitems 4 a on the top stack 3 to slide forwards relative to the remainderof the stack, with this item 4 a being capable of leaving through thegap 63 provided between the front branch 39 and the top end of the ramp30, as can be seen in FIG. 13.

When the drawer 6 has almost reached its retracted position, the item 4a in the example described has been extracted from the devicesufficiently for it to be easy for the user to grasp.

The projection 50 has still not reached the top wall 11 of the cover 5.When this occurs, as shown in FIG. 15, the terminal portion 16 haspractically reached the top of the ramp 30.

As the movement of returning the wall continues, the frame 34 tends topress against the first portion 26 of the drawer, as shown in FIG. 16,and the projections 18 deform elastically and go past the front endportions 46 of the slideways 41, with the assembly taking up theconfiguration shown in FIG. 18.

The front end portions 46 can bend upwards under drive from theprojections 18 before they manage to get past them.

When the user pulls the drawer 6 for a new cycle of dispensing an item4, the projections 18 rest on the slideways 41, thus making it possibleto prevent the drive member from pressing against the stack 3, asmentioned above.

Naturally, the invention is not limited to the embodiment describedabove.

In particular, the drive member 10 may be made, for example, with ametal pin whose ends constitute the projections 18.

The terminal portion 16 may receive treatment, a coating, or an element,e.g. made of elastomer, in order to increase friction between itself andthe underlying item 4.

The tab 15 could have some other shape, for example it could have beperforated.

The device 1 may optionally be arranged so as to be suitable for beingrefilled.

The cover 5 may optionally be made of a transparent plastics material.

Where appropriate, the drive member may be fitted to the remainder ofthe cover 5, for example it may be snap-fastened thereto.

Independently or in combination with the above, the present inventionalso provides a device for packaging and dispensing stacked items, thedevice comprising:

-   -   a box comprising:        -   a first portion, in particular a cover; and        -   a second portion, in particular a drawer, that is movable            relative to the first portion between a retracted position            and an extended position; and    -   a stack of said items disposed in the second portion;    -   the first portion including a drive member configured firstly to        press on the stack of items while the second portion, in        particular the drawer, is being moved towards the retracted        position, and secondly to entrain an item in contact therewith        relative to the remainder of the stack in order to enable it to        be grasped by the user;    -   the second portion and the drive member being configured in such        a manner as to no longer put the drive member in contact with        the stack of items when the second portion is fully put in its        retracted position.

Independently or in combination with the above, the present inventionalso provides a device for packaging and dispensing stacked items, thedevice comprising:

-   -   a box comprising:        -   a first portion, in particular a cover; and        -   a second portion, in particular a drawer, that is movable            relative to the first portion between a retracted position            and an extended position; and    -   a stack of said items placed in the second portion;    -   the first portion, in particular the cover of the box, includes        a drive member configured firstly to press against the stack of        items while the second portion, in particular the drawer, is        being moved towards its retracted position, and secondly to        entrain an item in contact therewith relative to the remainder        of the stack in order to enable it to be grasped by the user;    -   the second portion being in the form of two hinged portions        connected together by a hinge.

Throughout the description, including in the claims, the term“comprising a” should be understood as being synonymous with “comprisingat least one” unless specified to the contrary.

Although the present invention herein has been described with referenceto particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodimentsare merely illustrative of the principles and applications of thepresent invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that otherarrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A device for packaging and dispensing stacked items, the devicecomprising: a box comprising: a first portion; and a second portion thatis movable relative to the first portion between a retracted positionand an extended position; and a stack of said items disposed in thesecond portion; the first portion including a drive member configured topress against the stack of items while the second portion is being movedtoward the retracted position, and to entrain an item in contacttherewith relative to the remainder of the stack in order to enable theitem to be grasped by a user; and the second portion and the drivemember also being configured in such a manner as to prevent the drivemember from pressing against the stack of items over at least a fractionof the stroke of the second portion from retracted position toward theextended position.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein each itemis flat.
 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein each item is foldedin half.
 4. A device according to claim 1, wherein each item is concave.5. A device according to claim 1, wherein each item includes shapes inrelief.
 6. A device according to claim 5, wherein said shapes in reliefcomprise projections.
 7. A device according to claim 1, wherein thedrive member comprises an elastically deformable tab configured toenable the drive member to exert contact pressure on the stack of items.8. A device according to claim 7, wherein the tab is made integrallywith the first portion by molding a plastic material.
 9. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the second portion includes a slot throughwhich the drive member extends while in contact with the stack.
 10. Adevice according to claim 9, wherein the second portion includes atleast one slideway configured to keep the drive member away from thestack of items during at least a fraction of the stroke of the secondportion going from the retracted position toward the extended position.11. A device according to claim 10, wherein the second portion has twoslideways associated with two respective opposite sides of the secondportion.
 12. A device according to claim 11, wherein the drive memberincludes projections configured in such a manner as to rest on theslideways during at least a fraction of the stroke of the second portionfrom the retracted position towards the extended position.
 13. A deviceaccording to claim 12, wherein said projections are made integrally withthe drive member by molding a plastic material.
 14. A device accordingto claim 11, wherein the second portion is made with a frame havingopposite branches each carrying one of the two slideways.
 15. A deviceaccording to claim 12, wherein the second portion is made with a framehaving opposite branches each carrying one of the two slideways.
 16. Adevice according to claim 1, wherein the second portion includes atleast one slideway having an end portion with which the drive membercomes into contact while the second portion is being moved from theextended position to the retracted position in order to dispense anitem, and wherein the second portion includes a wall arranged to forcethe drive member to go past the end portion of the slideway when thesecond portion is brought into the fully closed position, so that thedrive member then rests on the slideway while the second portion isagain being moved toward the extended position.
 17. A device accordingto claim 16, wherein a shortest distance between the slideway and saidwall is less than a distance between a surface of the drive member thatcomes to press against said wall and a surface of the drive member thatcomes to press against the slideway when the drive member is restingthereon without making contact with the stack of items.
 18. A deviceaccording to claim 16, wherein the end portion of each slideway tapersforwardly.
 19. A device according to claim 17, wherein the end portionof each slideway tapers forwardly.
 20. A device according to claim 16,wherein the end portion of each slideway is free.
 21. A device accordingto claim 17, wherein the end portion of each slideway is free.
 22. Adevice according to claim 1, wherein the second portion includes a rampagainst which the drive member comes to bear while the second portion isbeing moved from the extended position toward the retracted position inorder to dispense an item, and while the second portion is close to theretracted position.
 23. A device according to claim 22, wherein the rampco-operates with a downwardly directed rim to define a setback enablingthe second portion to be grasped by a user in order to move the secondportion between the retracted and extended positions.
 24. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the second portions comprises twohinged-together portions connected together by a hinge.
 25. A deviceaccording to claim 22, wherein the second portion is made with a ramparranged to skew the stack of items forward when one of the hingedportions is folded onto the other.
 26. A device according to claim 23,wherein the first portion is arranged to enable the two hinged portionsto form a forwardly open angle when the second portion is in theextended position.
 27. A device according to claim 1, wherein the secondportion is made with a bottom wall presenting on a bottom face a firstshape in relief co-operating with a corresponding second shape in reliefof the cover to define an end-of-stroke abutment for the second portionwhen in the extended position.
 28. A device according to claim 1,wherein the second portion includes a projection on a top front edgethereof.
 29. A device for packaging and dispensing stacked items, thedevice comprising: a box comprising: a first portion; a second portionthat is movable relative to the first portion between a retractedposition and an extended position; and a stack of said items disposed inthe second portion; the first portion including a drive memberconfigured firstly to press against the stack of items while the secondportion is being moved towards the retracted position, and secondly toentrain an item in contact therewith relative to a remainder of thestack in order to enable the item be grasped by a user; the secondportion and the drive member being configured in such a manner as to nolonger put the drive member in contact with the stack of items when thesecond portion is fully in the retracted position.
 30. A device forpackaging and dispensing stacked items, the device comprising: a boxcomprising: a first portion; a second portion that is movable relativeto the first portion between a retracted position and an extendedposition; and a stack of said items placed in the second portion; thefirst portion including a drive member configured firstly to pressagainst the stack of items while the second portion is being movedtoward the retracted position, and secondly to entrain an item incontact therewith relative to a remainder of the stack in order toenable the item be grasped by a user; the second portion comprising twohinged portions connected together by a hinge.
 31. A method ofmanufacturing a device for dispensing items, the method comprising thefollowing steps: placing a stack of items to be dispensed in a drawercomprising two hinged-together portions; and assembling the drawer witha cover; the cover including a drive member configured to press againstthe stack of items while the drawer is being moved toward a retractedposition, and to entrain an item in contact therewith relative to aremainder of the stack in order to enable the item to be grasped by auser; the drawer and the drive member also being configured in such amanner as to prevent the drive member from pressing against the stack ofitems over at least a fraction of the stroke of the drawer from theretracted position towards the extended position.
 32. A method ofdispensing items contained in a drawer that is movable relative to acover, the items forming a stack in the drawer, a body of the coverincluding a drive member configured to press against the stack of itemswhile the drawer is being moved toward a retracted position, and toentrain an item in contact therewith relative to a remainder of thestack in order to enable the item to be grasped by a user, the drawerand the drive member also being configured in such a manner as toprevent the drive member from pressing against the stack of items overat least a fraction of the stroke of the drawer from the retractedposition toward an extended position.
 33. The device of claim 1, whereinthe first portion comprises a cover and the second portion comprises adrawer.
 34. The device of claim 24, wherein the hinge comprises a filmhinge.
 35. The device of claim 29, wherein the first portion comprises acover and the second portion comprises a drawer.
 36. The device of claim30, wherein the first portion comprises a cover and the second portioncomprises a drawer.